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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #157811
Title: AEROBIC STABILITY OF WHEAT AND ORCHARDGRASS ROUND-BALE SILAGE

Author
item COBLENTZ, WAYNE
item RHEIN, ROBERT
item TURNER, JOHN
item OGDEN, ROBIN
item ROSENKRANS, JR., CHARLES
item KELLOGG, D. WAYNE
item Sauer, Thomas - Tom

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/9/2003
Publication Date: 7/9/2003
Citation: COBLENTZ, W.K., RHEIN, R.T., TURNER, J.E., OGDEN, R.K., ROSENKRANS, JR., C.F., KELLOGG, D., SAUER, T.J. AEROBIC STABILITY OF WHEAT AND ORCHARDGRASS ROUND-BALE SILAGE. University of Arkansas Forage and Hay Day. 2003. p. 11-20.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Silage is produced by harvesting a forage crop at a high moisture content (generally >50%) and fermenting that crop in pit, tower, bunker, trench, or plastic silos. Ideally, this process should occur in the total absence of oxygen. Over the last several decades, two primary factors have contributed to the increased production of silage in North America. First, silage-making is much less weather dependent than hay-making. Some forages such as corn or sorghum can be direct cut. After mowing, most other forages can be adequately wilted for silage production in less than 24 hours. This greatly reduces the risk of weather damage to the forage crop. Secondly, production of silage has been relatively easy to mechanize; this makes the practice quite attractive to large-scale livestock enterprises, particularly those that are based on confinement feeding. Regardless of the amount of capital invested, the purchase and subsequent use of expensive silage-making equipment will not improve forage quality. Forages harvested at advanced stages of maturity will always be poor in quality. To make high-quality silage, producers always must start with high-quality forage.